Small businesses’ most common mistakes with their websites appear to be critical and should not be overlooked. Here, we attempt to illustrate some of the evident flaws in startup and small business websites that might jeopardise user experience and business growth. Let us get into each of the points now.
1. Failing to set aside a certain budget for the website
We recognise that you need to structure your money correctly as a startup or small firm. However, failing to allocate a portion of the budget to website development implies you are being penny wise and pound dumb!
Small businesses overlook the necessity of investing in a professional website and then complain when they do not achieve the desired results.
Rather, set aside some budget to create a website to help your internet business. Then, engage the services of a reputable web development firm, such as Rentech Digital, to make a website that will enable your business to succeed and prosper. The money invested in this decision will be well spent.
2. Creating a website with free resources
Hundreds of websites on the internet guarantee free websites. And small firms are led to assume that this is enough.
But is this true? A good website does more than merely provide surface-level information. A lot goes into making your website visible to users and search engine ranking algorithms.
Do not be taken in by such cheap gimmicks. Period.
We believe that small businesses may not have the financial resources to invest in a high-quality website. First, however, develop a list of all the crucial features and tools you require for your website.
Consult with a reputable website creation business. They will advise you on the ideal features to incorporate into your website based on your budget to attract visitors.
3. There is no regular update of website content.
Imagine serving your visitor stale food! Will they pay you another visit? The same is true for your website. Visitors should not be served obsolete content.
Content that has been uploaded is insufficient. Examine your website regularly and change the material, photos, and videos to reflect the most recent industry trends. Visitors want fresh, well-organised material when they visit your website.
How do you approach this? The solution is to choose a competent website development firm that will assist you with the content updating element of your website.
You can also build your website on content management systems (CMS) platforms like WordPress, Magento, and Wix.
4. Having a visitor-repelling website design
Many analyses have been done on what pushes users away from a website. It is known as the bounce rate in technical terms. A high bounce rate implies that more visitors have left your website. Contrarily, a website must have a low bounce rate.
So, what causes a visitor leaves the website?
Slow-loading pages, unsightly themes, bad navigation, cluttered content, invasive adverts, low-quality information and images have to do with poor website design.
So, how do you guarantee that you entice visitors and convert them into potential customers?
- Choose an excellent website theme or invest in customising it to meet your company’s demands.
- Create a flowchart of page navigation ahead of time and implement it as needed.
- Maintain consistency in the colour scheme and fonts used on the website.
- To describe the products/services, create concise, minimal, clear, and keyword-rich material.
- To support the written content, use visually engaging, high-quality photos.
- Insert short, clear videos wherever they are appropriate.
- Categorise your items and services to make finding them in a search easier.
- Call-To-Actions should be placed in strategic spots.
To summarise, if you want a nice website design, seek the services of a professional website development business. Let us examine it further in our next point.
5. There is no CTA, or the CTA is poorly placed on the website.
A CTA (Call-To-Action) on a website prompts or motivates visitors to take positive action. It could be as easy and clear as a “Buy Now” button or as indirect as a “Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date” button. CTAs can be found in contact forms, chatbots, and pop-ups.
Many small businesses fail to emphasise CTAs and their placement on their websites. As a result, they may not be able to elicit the desired action from the visitor to convert them into consumers.
A smart website will feature a plethora of CTAs, large and small, direct and indirect. Its content and positioning entice visitors to take immediate action. Therefore, it must be clear and entertaining enough to attract visitors’ attention while remaining subtle enough not to bother them needlessly.
A professional web design company will be knowledgeable enough to assist you with CTAs and their placement on the website to force users to take immediate action.
6. Lack of a mobile-friendly website
It’s the mobile world! People prefer to shop on their phones rather than on laptops or desktop computers.
A responsive website aligns or rearranges its design and content to fit across all device screens, including laptops, desktops, smartphones, and tablets.
Small businesses do not place a high value on their website’s responsiveness. As a result, the user experience decreases significantly, and you risk losing potential consumers.
Discuss the responsiveness of your website with your website creation provider. The majority of the prepackaged themes are mobile-friendly. However, if you’re starting from scratch, make sure your website is responsive and cross-platform compatible.
7. Insufficient contact information
One of the most common errors small businesses make with their websites is displaying incorrect contact information. How can you expect visitors to trust purchasing products from a website with erroneous or no contact information?
Never display an incorrect address or phone number. You may have forgotten to alter it on the website or may not have felt the need to do so, but the visitor may suffer.
Providing your company’s contact information establishes trust with website visitors. Make it clear where your business (if any) is located and its operating hours, contact address, and phone numbers.
The contact form on your website should ask visitors for useful information and offer it. Place the “Contact Us” menu in the header so that any site visitor may see it.
Display the contact information in the website’s footer if you have a real location, including Google Maps your website, to show people that you are serious about doing business.
8. Unwilling to hire professional services
Many startups and small enterprises prioritise dramatic cost-cutting methods, with website creation being the top priority. Many settle for subpar websites created by untrustworthy website development businesses or inexperienced freelancers. Alas! That doesn’t help their cause. As a result, the website receives no visits or has a greater bounce rate.
We recommend that you invest in a quality website from the start. There are numerous reputable web development firms. For example, Rentech Digital provides a good all-inclusive website development service bundle. It offers bespoke themes, scalable and responsive websites, and outstanding customer support. In this manner, you save money in the long term.
Wrapping Up
The most common blunders that small businesses make with their websites are not to be overlooked. Indeed, it necessitates immediate attention and correction. However, isn’t it true that a good website attracts visitors, which you want in an online business?
We recommend investing in a solid website by employing website development professionals.